Abstract
Regular exercise and activity has been proven to improve breathlessness however breathless patients often avoid exercise and activity due to the misguided fear that breathlessness is harmful. Some patients may avoid exertion simply just to avoid this unpleasant symptom. Carers may also re-enforce negative beliefs regarding exercise, therefore promoting a sedentary life style. Inactivity may cause the breathless patient to become deconditioned and their breathlessness may worsen as a result. The clinician’s role is to address barriers to exercise and promote regular, appropriate exercise and activity. This chapter will introduce and explore a stepwise process to exercise and activity promotion to help guide the clinician to empower the breathless patient to engage in lifelong exercise and activity.
“When I found out I’d got cancer, you think ‘I’m ill’, whereas she made me see that you can still do exercise, all the exercises that you can do and when she left I felt much more confident actually, I did definitely”
–A patient with lung cancer
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Booth, S., Burkin, J., Moffat, C., Spathis, A. (2014). Exercise and Activity Promotion. In: Managing Breathlessness in Clinical Practice. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4754-1_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4754-1_8
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